We present an interactive visualization tool that provides users with the capability of cutting away the surfaces of enclosing objects to reveal interior or occluded objects. This tool, known as RibbonView, is applied by mimicking the sweeping action of a paint roller across the surface of a smooth object. This virtual analogy of a familiar real-world action not only removes the occluding surface but also generates a series of polygonal strips or ribbons that provide an effective contextual outline view of the removed material. The cutaway tool can be used for many types of cuts, uses a single, consistent interaction style, and the cut region is easily editable. We apply RibbonView to several human anatomy data sets to demonstrate its ease of use and effectiveness.
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